Experimenting, exploring, creating and communicating through the activity is more important than expecting the children to achieve an end goal - for example, correctly matching the animal figures with the mode of transport in 'Counting stories' below.
Interactive storybooks
* Share books that involve the children in an action - pushing buttons, feeling textures, lifting flaps, looking in mirrors and so on.
* Alternatively, make stories more interactive by gathering props that support their content.
* For example, in the picture you can see props for Wibbly Pig opens his presents by Mick Inkpen (Hodder Children's Books).
* Store these props in an attractive bag that you can easily access.
* Use the props to tell the story or invite older children to select the appropriate prop for a particular page or event.
Counting stories
* Familiarise yourself with traditional number rhymes, songs and stories - for example, 'Ten fat sausages frying in the pan', 'Five currant buns in a baker's shop', or 'Goldilocks and the three bears'.
* Re-tell these rhymes and stories to the children.
* As an alternative, use board books that have a number theme to share with the children.
* One example is Pip the Penguin: How many? Too many! by Leslie McGuirk (Campbell Board Books). Pip the Penguin goes on a journey and meets poodles in a boat, rabbits in a helicopter, zebras in a submarine and so on.
* Invite the children to lift the flaps on the pages so that you can count the number of animal characters together.
* Ask the children to match animal figures to the appropriate mode of transport used in the story.
Repetitive language
* Share stories that have a lot of repetition in them such as Can't you sleep, Dotty? by Tim Warnes (Little Tiger Press).
* Pause and let the children complete the repeated lines.
* The very noisy night by Diana Hendry (Puffin Books) is another good example of an appropriate story with lots of repetition.
* Sing rhymes that have repetitive actions to go along with them.
Two little dicky birds
* Draw two simple bird 'faces' on your index fingers.
* Say the rhyme using your fingers to illustrate.
Two little dicky birds sitting on a wall.
(wiggle the two fingers with the faces) One named Peter, one named Paul.
(wiggle one finger, then the other) Fly away Peter, Fly away Paul.
(hide your hands behind your back) Come back Peter, Come back Paul!
(bring your hands back but keep your index fingers hidden in your fist, whilst showing your middle fingers instead)
* Encourage the children to look under your arms, behind your back, under the chair and so on for Peter and Paul.
* Complete the rhyme again inviting the children to say 'Come back Peter, come back Paul.'
* This time, allow the birds to return.
Two little eyes
* Gather a range of items that stimulate each of the five senses, such as those in the photo below.
* Place the items on a tray or in a box.
* While the children explore the items, say the lines Two little eyes watch the world go round.
Two little ears can hear every sound.
One little nose smells things around me.
One little mouth tastes toast and tea.
And these little fingers on each hand, Can feel snow, slime, silk and sand.
* Encourage the children to name the various items they find on the tray.
Older children can be encouraged to describe the items.
* Each time you carry out this activity, change the items on the tray.
Eye, nose, cheeky, chin
* Cover a piece of stiff card with skin-coloured felt.
* Draw a blank face, hair and shoulders with fabric pens (see photo)
* Create facial features using card and felt. Make a few sets of eyes, two or three noses and mouths and some ears.
* On the back of each feature stick some Velcro (rough side) - this should attach to the felt with ease.
* Sit opposite the toddler and say Eye, nose, cheeky, cheeky, chin.
Cheeky, cheeky, chin, nose, eye.
* Gently touch each feature as you say it, then repeat and build the face to match the rhyme.
* Encourage the toddler to complete the face. Repeat placing the features in funny parts of the face.
Black and white animals
* Create a small collection of black and white animals using puppets, soft toys, cloth cut outs and so on.
* While holding each animal, sing an appropriate song or rhyme. For example, sheep - 'Baa, baa black sheep'; cat - 'Ding-dong bell, pussy's in the well'; dog -'How much is that doggy in the window?'
* Offer the baby the animals to hold as you sing the song or say the poem.
* With an older child, sing the song or say the poem and challenge him to pick the animal to illustrate the words you use.
